Monday, April 27, 2015

We just took a great group of pilgrims to Fatima, Avila and Lourdes. We have another trip going in July to visit Fatima, Santiago de Compostela and Lourdes. Join us and miss all the crowds!

Pope Francis Plans to Visit Fatima in 2017

Trip to Coincide with 100th Anniversary of Marian Apparitions, By Junno Arocho Esteves

ROME, April 27, 2015 (Zenit.org) – Pope Francis is expected to visit the Basilica of Our Lady of Fatima (Portugal) in 2017 on the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary. (Come with us so you can say, “I was there!”)

We met Lucia's niece

According to a press release by the diocese, confirmed that news of the visit was given directly to the bishop by the Holy Father during a private audience at the Vatican on Saturday.

“Pope Francis confirmed to Bishop Antonio Marto that, ‘if God gives him life and health’, he wants to be in Cova di Iria to celebrate the centenary of the Apparitions of Fatima,” the diocese stated.

The communique also stated that after having received various invitations to Fatima, this is the first time that the Pope has confirmed his desire to go, as well as authorizing the diocese to make his intention to visit public.

Join us in Fatima in July; click image for more info

On May 13th, 1917, three shepherd children: Lucia dos Santos, Jacinta Marto and Francisco Marto were visited by the Blessed Virgin Mary. After several months, almost 30,000 people witnessed “The Miracle of the Sun”, a phenomenon in which the sun spun and changed colors. The sign was promised by the Virgin Mary so that the faithful would believe.

St. John Paul II credited the Blessed Mother with saving his life from an assassin’s bullet on May 13th, 1981. He later placed the bullet in the crown of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima.

See our pilgrimage page here. Click on the brochure image to see the full brochure. For more info contact my associate Suzanne at sparran@ctscentral.net or 1-800-727-1999, ext.121.

Today, April 28, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments for and against redefining marriage in America. The very institution of God’s design for marriage as only between one man and one woman is on trial.

As hard as it is to believe, nine people will decide if our nation will honor God and obey Him, or turn its back on the most fundamental building block of society and on God himself.

This will be the most important decision in the history of America along with the Roe v Wade that legalized abortion.

I think all Christians, rational folks and people of good will need to … pray.

This is an interesting and insightful piece on Islam. There is no question it will continue to be the growing issue for America, Christians and the freedom of thought and rationality.

A new Pew Research Center study that looks at the future of world religions and potential population growth around the globe found that the Muslim faith is rising at a faster rate than Christianity—with the possibility that Islam could equal Christianity as the largest world religion for the first time ever.

According to the study “The Future of World Religions: Population Growth Projections, 2010-2050,” “the religious profile of the world is rapidly changing, driven primarily by differences in fertility rates and the size of youth populations among the world’s major religions, as well as by people switching faiths. Over the next four decades, Christians will remain the largest religious group, but Islam will grow faster than any other major religion.”

Southern Evangelical Seminary President Dr. Richard Land said that while projections of the rise of Islam underscore the need for Christian apologetics in the United States, the Pew study doesn’t tell the full story.

“This study is an interesting commentary on the rise of the Muslim faith, as well as the possible decline in the percentages of Christians—both around the world and in America,” Land said. “This research underscores the importance of being able to defend our faith by speaking rationally, intelligently, passionately and with grace about what we believe and why we believe it. At the same time, the study misses some important rumblings within the Islamic faith itself that may significantly change projections of strong growth.”

Indeed, according to Dr. Daniel Janosik, Director of Islamic Studies at SES, Islam is on the brink of both a physical and an academic implosion.

“Internally, we see a growing divide between Sunni and Shia Islam,” Janosik said. “But perhaps even more significant is an impending Quranic implosion. More and more, Muslims are realizing that the Quran does not have the earmarks of a revelation of God but, instead, is a man-made book. And with this realization is coming an exodus of Muslims from the Islamic faith. This academic implosion will have a much greater effect of turning Muslims away from Islam than recent criticisms of the Bible have had over the last several centuries—the reason being that we have been able to answer criticisms of the Bible and demonstrate its trustworthiness. Supporters of the Quran will be unable to do the same.”

Janosik said that the projections of the Pew study are based on present conditions, but these conditions are changing rapidly.

“For 1,400 years, Islam has been in existence. For 1,375 years, there were relatively few conversions to Christianity. In the last 20 years, however, there have been hundreds of thousands—perhaps millions—of Muslims converting to Christianity. Why? Because God is on the move and is doing something new.”…